The 286 projects that have been completed since the state created its historic-preservation tax credit program in 2001 have brought $1.3 billion in private investment to Rhode Island, based on $350.7 million in the transferable credits.
But the state’s fiscal troubles caused the program to be suspended, then brought back on a limited basis. Thus, there are 52 active projects, which have $114.4 million in tax credit allocations and which have attracted $514.6 million in private investment.
When Gov. Gina M. Raimondo took office, she and her team saw the need for a real estate incentive program that also offered help to new construction and that helped the state share in some of the upside.
Enter Rebuild Rhode Island, a program that offers help but has doesn’t pay off until the back end – and then in increments, not all at once, and which shares some of that upside with the state. Generally, it is not as well-loved as the historic-credit program.
The question is, should more historic-rehab funds be created or should the program be shut down when current projects are done?
The answer is that not all development is the same, and if there are tools that continue to draw interest and investment to Rhode Island for both historic and new construction, they all should be available, within clear limits and accountability.
One of the reasons that Rhode Island shows up on so many lists as an attractive and interesting city to live and work in is its rich tapestry of rehabilitated buildings. Policymakers should not pull the rug out from under one of the tools that made the work happen.
